Artist Statement

I am M.A Raihan. I born in Dhaka in 1985. I received my art education (BFA) from the University of Development Alternative, Bangladesh. My major subject was Painting but later my interest has intensely grown in Conceptual arts. My creative approach spans Photo, Sound, Video, video Collage and installation. The elements and subjects of my art works are largely influenced by the regional context of South Asia. I have tried to enhance my artistic sensitivity through different art forms using various mediums, techniques and technology. To create a piece of art or to give my viewers a new experience I always preferred an alternative language of expression. My works can be described simply as the reconstruction and deconstruction of visual images. As I believe that art is all about creating or modifying Visual images of different materials and kinds. Here visual image, I meant a feeling or an emotion through which viewers eyes or his/her mind can perceive it.

My school of thought about art is to continuously explore for more. I questioned myself why a Printer, typewriter or a mobile phone will only do its regular duties like taking photos or typing a page or printing in a usual manner? Why not these regular devices can be used as a new medium of art work? So I started searching for what more alternative uses can be there to create a completely different art work. In search of these alternative uses, I found my interest growing towards the background of an image. I entered into the world of digital code; I broke the codes, add the codes and sometimes modified its natural forms just to get something new out of it. So eventually my journey to explore for more also made me a researcher. Needless to say that the areas of my research are Light, Sound, Motion, Time and Space.

The main purpose of all these areas of research is to create a new or alternative form of Image. Below a brief explanation of my conceptual art works are given for the convenience.

Motion, Time and Space: When Motion, Time and Space meets together it makes another dimension of reality. In my video works I have represented this reality with Slow Motion, Fast Forward, Backward-Forward and in Repetition forms.

Light and Sound: I have observed that transforming, expanding or intercepting Light and sound together in physical spaces can create different emotions of Images. Here I will use Projection, Sound and Installation objects for my presentation.

Redefining Art: By redefining art I meant the alternative explanation of art forms. In redefining art I will represent my Video works and Video Collages by altering an Image, causing error in an image and or using the noises of the sound.

Altering the Scale, perspective of an image or super imposing it can provide different emotion of an image. We can have some great Images using the techniques like Mirror Reflection, Vortograph, Invert and Collage.

I have also observed that how error of an image can exaggerate or manipulate the emotion of an image. Using the techniques like Glitch, Pixel Sort, Data Mosh, Chromatic Aberration,Xerox,Pixelate will give us a variety of feelings .

Noises can also be used to create a visual image. To get an alternative emotion of an image the recorded mixed noises, reverse conversations can also enhance or motivate us to the different emotions of a visual image.